Human-Powered > Heat > Self-fueled work station concept generates energy while you sit - Unplugged is an office work station of the future concept that envisions powering your electronic devices via energy collected off the human body. According to Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg, all you would have to do is move about your office as normal, sit in your chair and let the heat of your body do the rest. (GizMag; July 5, 2012)

2011

Batteries > Paper / Alt Fuels > Biomass > R&D > Sony demos paper-fueled battery - Sony recently showed off a new bio-cell battery that breaks down paper in order to create power. The process starts with an enzyme suspended in water. When paper is dropped in, the enzyme starts to break it down and produce glucose that can then be harvested and used to power a battery. (GizMag; December 21, 2011)

Fuel Efficiency > Engines > The spherical genius of the Hüttlin Kugelmotor - After nearly twenty years of development the disc motor, a work of elegant genius of Dr. Herbert Hüttlin's Kugelmotor, is going through final testing. It is a compact spherical motor/generator combination that is radically different from the traditional in-line combustion engine, and has significantly fewer moving parts. (GizMag; September 22, 2011)

Superconductors / Grid > Sapphire fibers carry 40 times more electricity than copper wire - Researchers from Tel Aviv University have now developed a new type of cost-effective superconductive wire made from single-crystal sapphire fibers, which are then coated in a ceramic mixture, which they claim can carry 40 times more electricity than copper wiring of the same size. Slightly thicker than a human hair, they must be continuously cooled in order to remain in a superconducting state. (GizMag; September 9, 2011)

Solar > EnviroMission Tower > Big solar tower coming to Arizona - An ambitious solar energy project on a massive scale is about to get underway in the Arizona desert. EnviroMission is undergoing land acquisition and site-specific engineering to build its first full-scale solar tower, 800-plus meter (2625 ft) tall (2x Empire State Bldg.). Its 200-megawatt power generation capacity will reliably feed the grid with enough power for 150,000 US homes. (Changing Power and GizMag (Video); July 21, 2011)

Solar / Ethanol / Hydrogen > Production > Hydrogen generated from sunlight and ethanol - An international team of scientists has announced success in creating hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure using a combination of sunlight and ethanol. The method is potentially cheaper, produces higher yields and, because no high temperatures or pressures are required, uses less energy than conventional methods. (GizMag; May 30, 2011)

Solar > Thin Film > Spray-on film turns windows into solar panels - Norweigan solar power company, EnSol, has patented a thin film solar cell technology designed to be sprayed on to surfaces such as windows and exterior walls. Unlike traditional silicon-based solar cells, the film is composed of metal nanoparticles embedded in a transparent composite matrix, and operates on a different principle. (GizMag; April 17, 2011)

Solar > Thin Film > Wysips technology can turn any surface into a PV power plant - A French company recently showed off a prototype phone where the touchscreen display itself housed the solar-soaking cells. Wysips technology allows light to pass through a semi-cylindrical lens onto thin strips of photovoltaic cells below, while also allowing the surface underneath to show through; enabling many to potentially become self-sufficient power producers. (GizMag; March 29, 2011)

Solar > New solar-thermal device harnesses heat and light - Researchers at Wake Forest University have developed a new type of polymer solar-thermal device that combines photovoltaics with a system that captures the Sun's infrared radiation to generate heating. By taking advantage of both heat and light, researchers say the device could deliver up to 40 percent savings on the cost of heating, as well as produce electricity. (GizMag; April 7, 2011)

Solar > new: Solar Windows > Chicago’s Willis Tower to Become a Vertical Solar Farm - Formerly known as Sears Tower, the world's tallest building (1451 feet or 442 m) from 1974 to 1998 has enough window area for a 10 acre solar power plant. As a pilot project, the south facing windows of the 56th floor will be replaced with Pythagoras Solar's transparent solar windows which cut down on heat gain – and therefore cooling costs – while harnessing energy from the sun. (GizMag; March 22, 2011)

Wind > Torque vectoring gears for smaller, more efficient wind turbines - Torque vectoring has been used in automobile differentials, allowing the amount of power sent to each wheel to be varied. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have now adapted this technology to wind turbines to eliminate the need for converting the alternating current produced by the turbines into direct current and back again before it is fed into the grid. (GizMag; February 24, 2011)

Wind / EVs > Wind-powered car completes cross-continental journey - A television host and an engineer from Germany have completed an almost 5,000 km (3,107 mile) journey across Australia in their Wind Explorer, a lightweight electric vehicle powered by the wind – not only through electricity-generating wind turbines but also using kites. (Gizmag; February 15, 2011)

Fuel Efficiency > Hydraulics > Chrysler announces development of hydraulic hybrid technology for cars - Chrysler has announced a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to design and develop an experimental hydraulic hybrid powertrain (storing energy from braking and the engine into hydraulic pressure) suitable for use in large passenger cars and light-duty vehicles, with the aim of having a demonstration minivan sometime during 2012. (Gizmag; January 26, 2011)

Fuel Efficiency > Vehicles > Gasoline > Volkswagen to unveil 261 mpg XL1 prototype in Qatar - Volkswagen will unveil a vehicle at the Qatar Motor Show this week that, according to the company, consumes only 0.9 liter of gasoline at every 100 km (261 mpg), surpassing the vision dreamed in 2000 of creating a practical everyday use production car with a fuel consumption of 1.0 liter per 100 km, accomplished in 2002. (Gizmag; January 25, 2011)

Solar > PV > R&D > Solar powered microchips put batteries in the shade - In a new, more efficient approach to solar powered microelectronics, researchers in China have produced a microchip which directly integrates photovoltaic cells. What sets this device apart is that high-efficiency solar cells are placed straight onto the electronics, producing self-sufficient, low-power devices which are highly suitable for industrial serial production and can even operate indoors. (GizMag; December 30, 2010)